


Sunny Side Up

by wantonwasting



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-11
Updated: 2014-10-11
Packaged: 2019-03-02 00:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13306440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wantonwasting/pseuds/wantonwasting
Summary: It was like a bad porno, really – the babysitter crushing on the hot dad of his charge. The only difference was that Noiz had absolutely no chance with Koujaku.





	Sunny Side Up

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This was very last minute because I’ve been sick, but I wanted to enter anyway because I really do love the askkounoi blog - every time I see an update, it makes my day. Thank you to the muns for running such an enjoyable blog!

“Coming! Coming!”

Noiz lifted the hand he had raised to knock again from the solid the wooden door and waited. He shifted the strap of his laptop case over his shoulder. Wind rustled the trees, softly at first before building in intensity and sending leaves cascading over the porch. The weather reports had been predicting steadily falling temperatures over the week, but Noiz had not noticed the difference. He pulled his beanie down lower on his forehead – not because of the chill of the wind, but because he liked how it looked. He brushed the stray leaves from his shoulders and then absently dusted the front of his jacket for what had to be the fiftieth time. Finally hearing footsteps approaching the door, he shoved his hands in his pockets and sank into a nonchalant slouch.

When the door was finally opened, he was met with a face that had become all too familiar. From his expressive, deep red eyes to the strong lines of his jaw, there was not a single feature of Koujaku’s face that Noiz had not come to memorise. He had only worked for him for three months, but there was no point in lying to himself; he was well aware that recently every time Koujaku smiled at him, he felt like he was floating six inches off the ground.

“Thanks again for coming tonight. I’m so glad you were available on such short notice.” Koujaku said, ushering Noiz inside from the biting wind.

“It’s fine.” Noiz said. He deliberately did not think about how he had cancelled a dungeon crawl with his guild online, and he certainly did not think about how he called Aoba to cover for him at the computer shop. He could go in early tomorrow to get a head-start on the repairs he had lined up, so it hardly mattered, right?

He was distracted from his own rhetorical monologue by the weight of Koujaku’s hand on his arm.

“No, I really do appreciate it.” Koujaku was saying. “I know twice in two weeks is probably too much, but…”

“It can’t be helped, right? Work is work.” Noiz shrugged.

“Ah, it’s not actually work tonight.” Koujaku said, a little embarrassed.

“Oh?”

“It’s a date!” Beni called in a singsong voice from the lounge room. “Dad’s going on a date with a babe from the salon!”

“Oh.”

“Ah, yeah, well, she’s the sister of a client of mine.” Koujaku said. He checked his watched. “Damn, I should actually finish getting ready or I’ll be late. As you probably already realised, Beni is in the lounge room. He has some school work to do for a project, but otherwise everything is just the same as it usually is.”

“Cool.” Noiz said. He walked past Koujaku down the hall a little way before stepping into the lounge room.

Koujaku followed him, but stopped at the door. “Beni, Noiz is here.”

“Dad!” Beni said, pulling a face. “I’ve told you! I don’t need a baby sitter anymore.”

“Still bitter about losing at Mario Kart, huh?” Noiz asked.

Colour flooded to Beni’s cheeks. “You! That’s it - I want a rematch! I’ll win for sure this time!”

“You’re on then.” Noiz said. His gaze slid to Koujaku’s face, and then quickly away again. “After you’ve done your homework.”

Beni grumbled but sat down. Koujaku chuckled and walked away down the hallway. Noiz walked over the couch. He swung his bag down to rest against the side of the couch, and then dropped unceremoniously down onto the soft cushions.

“Well?” Noiz asked. “What’s the project?” He was vaguely aware of the sounds of the shower coming from the bathroom at the back of the house, but he forced his mind from that inevitable train of thought and focused on Beni instead.

“Science.” The eight year old said. He pouted a little, rolling his pencil over the page of his textbook. He was a cute kid, a mop of curly red hair neatly framing his face. His attitude was sometimes a problem at times, but Noiz found that he could make a competition out of anything to get Beni to go along with it.

“Oh? What kind of science?”

“The normal kind, I guess.” Beni said. “I was going to write about ghosts but the teacher said that they weren’t real so I couldn’t. So I thought I’d do the reason why the leaves change colour in autumn.”

“A seasonal theme, huh?”

“Yeah, but I don’t really understand what this stuff means.” Beni said. He flicked at the pages of the book, his pencil rolling off and dropping onto the floor.

“Why I don’t I get us some drinks and we can have a look together?” Noiz asked.

“Alright.” Beni said. “Oh yeah, Dad got some more of that soft drink you like – it’s in the fridge.”

“Wait here then.” Noiz said. He got to his feet and headed to the kitchen. A little down the hall, the bathroom door opened. Accompanied by a wafting cloud of steam, Koujaku strode down the hall to his bedroom with only a towel around his waist. Noiz watched in silence. He did not intend to stare but he could not look away. Water drops from his thick black hair chased the lines of the bold tattoos down Koujaku’s back, clinging to the sweeping curves of his muscles all the way down until they soaked into the soft whiteness of the towel.

As Koujaku disappeared into his room, Noiz swallowed hard. There was no harm in looking, right?

Shaking his head, he returned to his intended task, pouring drinks for both himself and Beni. Glasses in hand – one filled with fizzy green soda, the other sweet red cordial – he returned to the lounge room.

"Alright, let’s have a look at this.“ Noiz said, setting the cups down carefully away from the books and pencil case. "Give me the book.”

“What, you don’t think I’m smart enough? Just you wait! I’ll study really hard and get high scores and then go to an even better university than you do!”

There was no better university in the country, but that was not the issue. Tilting his head a little to the side, Noiz smirked. “You just said you didn’t understand it.”

Scowling a little, Beni handed Noiz the textbook. Noiz skimmed the pages until he found the place.

For a large part of the year, leaves are a tree’s workhorses, constantly converting carbon dioxide, water and sunlight into energy in a process called photosynthesis. The special ingredient for this process, the pigment chlorophyll, is what gives leaves their bright, green color for much of the year. But while chlorophyll is the star of the show, it has some help in the form of the pigments carotene and xanthophyll. Xantho is Greek for “yellow,” and carotene is what gives items like carrots and egg yolks their orangish color. These two pigments are always present in leaves and help absorb sunlight, which they transfer to chlorophyll for photosynthesis.

As summer nears its end and days get shorter, the increased amount of darkness incites trees to prepare for a sort of hibernation. Leaves won’t be able to continue photosynthesizing during winter due to the dry air and lack of sunlight, so the tree does two things. First, it forms a separation layer made of corklike cells at the base of each leaf to seal it off from the tree. Second, it stops producing chlorophyll since it won’t need this pigment until the days start to lengthen once again in the spring. With chlorophyll out of the picture, the yellow and orange pigments get a chance to shine.

The red hues, which come from pigments called anthocyanins, are slightly more complicated. Whereas all trees contain chlorophyll, carotene and xanthophyll, not all of them produce anthocyanins. Even the ones that do have anthocyanins only produce it under certain circumstances.

…Was this normal material for third grade? Noiz shook his head a little and then straightened.

“Well?” Beni asked.

“Don’t worry.” Noiz said, and ruffled Beni’s hair. But before the kid could get indignant, he tapped the book. “It’s complicated stuff. There’s no shame in not understanding this. Let me see if I can explain it for you.”

“Alright, I’m off.” Koujaku said, walking into the lounge room. He was dressed in neat black jeans paired with a dark red suit jacket and white shirt. He had eschewed a tie, the unbuttoned collar of his shirt highlighting the column of his neck in a way that should not have been so damned attractive. Noiz swallowed unconsciously when Koujaku did.

“What it is?” Koujaku asked, smiling nervously. He smoothed his hair; a nervous gesture Noiz had never noticed before but something he now catalogued.

“Nothing. See you later.”

“I’ve got my phone so don’t hesitate to call if you need to.” Koujaku said. “I’ll come straight home. I should be back around eleven, anyway.”

“Don’t worry.” Noiz said, smirking. “I can stay all night if you need me to.”

“I, uh, don’t think that will be necessary.” Koujaku said.

“Got it. Have fun.”

“Have fun, Dad!” Beni said. “Don’t forget flowers!”

“I know, I know.” Koujaku laughed. “Be good, Beni.”

With that, he was out of the door, and the soft roar of the engine of his car moments later indicated he was well and truly gone.

“Flowers?” Noiz asked, turning to Beni. Did the woman have a particular liking for flowers or something?

“Yeah! Like in the movies – guys always give the girl flowers.” Beni said.

“Ah, right.”

“What, you didn’t know that?” Beni asked. A sly grin spread on his face. “Well, no wonder you can’t get a girlfriend.”

“What makes you think I don’t have one?”

“You have a girlfriend!?” Beni all but shouted. “Seriously, what kind of girl would go out with a guy like you?”

“Watch it, brat, or I won’t let you play any games after your homework.”

“So, what’s she like?” Beni asked, eyes sparkling.

“…I don’t have a girlfriend.” Noiz said.

“Ehhh? But you said –”

“I’m too busy studying.” Noiz lied. “And if you want to go to an even better university than mine, you definitely won’t have time for one, either.”

“What? No!”

The look of absolute horror on Beni’s face was enough to bring a small smile to Noiz’s own.

“Well, you won’t have to worry about it if you don’t finish that science project.”

Beni frowned. “Then… I don’t think I want to finish it.”

“Are you sure?” Noiz asked. “At your age, you don’t have much else to offer people but your brains. But if you neglect your studies, your brain will rot away into nothingness.”

“Wh-what?”

“That’s right.” Noiz said. “And if that happens, you won’t get into a good university and get a job that can support all the flowers you’ll have to buy. And then where will you be?”

“So I should study, right? Let’s go study then!” Beni pushed the textbook back into Noiz’s hands. “You said you’d explain this to me!”

"Alright, alright.“ Noiz said, easily suppressing the swell of mirth in his chest. "Let’s have a look, shall we?”

***

The night passed quickly after that. Noiz did his best to explain the leaf changing phenomena in simple terms, and was gratified that Beni at least seemed to understand what he had said. Having then written up most of the project, Noiz was happy for Beni to call it quits and move on to his beloved games.

They played Mario Kart, as promised, and though Noiz continued his unbroken winning streak, Beni showed no sign of giving up. Finally, Noiz was forced to drag him away from the game so that he could get ready for bed. They played one more game once Beni had brushed his teeth and changed into his pyjamas. Noiz put Beni to bed with the promise that their rivalry could continue next time Noiz came to babysit.

With Beni in bed, there was nothing much to do. Noiz turned on the television for the background sound, and pulled the laptop from his bag onto his lap. He could study, sure, but he had already finished most of his current assignments and held little motivation to do the rest now. He could research for his ‘project’ with Aoba; but restoring retro tech was not something easily done without the actual tech at hand, so that too was a bust. Since his laptop was not a powerful gaming station in the same way his desktop was, any of his current favourite games were also ruled out by sheer inability to successfully enjoy them on such a pared back machine.

So he drank that green soda and played around on his programming packages. But that unfortunately was not mentally stimulating enough to keep his mind from drifting to the one place he knew it should not.

He wondered how Koujaku’s date was going.

He wished he had not wondered how Koujaku’s date was going. The idea of a pretty lady – no doubt a pretty lady, he could not imagine her as anything else – making him laugh and touching his arm was enough to set his teeth on edge. It was pointless to hope and wait, but he could not help it. It was the one thing he could simply take as he wanted, either, which did not help him in getting over the ridiculous feelings he was having.

This was stupid.

Crushes were stupid.

Did Koujaku really stop to buy her flowers?

Noiz ripped off his beanie and scrubbed his hands through his hair. Probably. But it did not matter, since there would not be an opportunity to compete with this mystery woman, and even if there was, Noiz would never do it.

He did wish he could go back to how it had been at the beginning, though. When Aoba had asked him if he would not mind babysitting now and again for his friend, Noiz had not been prepared for what was to come. Koujaku was not what he had expected and oh, how Noiz had hated him at first. Koujaku had been pedantic, overbearing and critical over every little thing. Noiz remembered more than once walking home, ranting in his head about how it was little wonder that Beni was a troublesome, spoilt kid.

But gradually, the more he had come to learn about the small family, the irritation faded away. Once he had passed whatever arbitrary test that Beni had decided in his head would qualify him as a good babysitter, the kid had opened up a little. He always spoke about how cool his dad was, how he never missed a school event, how he would stay up with him to help him assignments or make props for the plays.

And slowly but surely, Noiz had found his feelings towards the father of his charge had changed. At first it had just been purely physical; there was no denying that Koujaku was an attractive man, and definitely Noiz's type, so he was hardly surprised when he realised he had spent some nights getting off to thought of him. And then came the grudging respect for a single dad who still managed to make time for his son and was actively trying to provide the best life for him as possible. And after that was a reluctant acceptance that he had somehow been established into the outside of the ragtag family. But more and more recently, he had wanted something else.

He wanted something more.

It was like a bad porno, really – the babysitter crushing on the hot dad of his charge. The only difference was that he had absolutely no chance with Koujaku. That was, in part, because the few flirty lines and provocative positions he had tried had all been blithely ignored. The other part was that Noiz would probably rather die than admit to anyone that he was having feelings about an old man who worked in a hair salon and had a kid from a brief relationship he had had in his early twenties. That kind of family suburban bullshit just would not end well for him; it had already been made clear to him that he was not cut out for that kind of life.

But damn, all the thinking was doing his head in. Maybe he could launch one of his favourite games; configuring it to work on the small and slow computer might be enough of a distraction to at least last an hour.

Koujaku would be home by then. The only time Koujaku had stayed out later than midnight was when he had landed a stylist position for the Best Dressed Summer Fest a few months ago. He had not come back all night. Noiz had watched a bit of the all-night program as it aired though - out of curiosity more than anything else. He had not missed the 30 behind the scenes spotlight that had showcased Koujaku in his element, amidst the various bottles and clips and electric tools and models. Noiz wondered if he would ever forget the sight of Koujaku’s long thing fingers weaving and twisting through the models’ hair as he worked. He hoped he would at least forget the strange longing that gathered in the pit of his stomach whenever he wondered what that would feel like.

Maybe it was time to quit this job.

Noiz started up the game. Even with its reduced frame-rate and scratchy sound quality, it was better than circling these thoughts all night.

***

It was 3AM when Koujaku finally arrived home. He slipped in quietly, but Noiz saw him when he was walking down the hall.

“Welcome home. How was it?” Noiz asked, raising his voice just enough to carry.

But the second he spoke, his question was answered. Even in the half-light of the lounge room, illuminated by the bright glow from the kitchen, Koujaku turned to face him with tired eyes and an even tireder, somewhat forced smile.

“Hey. Sorry I’m back so late.” He said. His voice was flatter than usual, lacking its normal vitality. “If you want to grab your stuff, I’ll take you home.”

“Are you okay?” Noiz asked, setting his laptop down and putting it to sleep. “You don’t look so good.”

“Ah, it was kind of… a long night.” Koujaku said.

"Sit down and tell me about it.“

Koujaku rubbed his hands over his face. "I’d kill for a drink.” He muttered, voice muffled by his hands. But he straightened himself. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Let me drive you home.”

“Are you sure you should be driving? You look a bit pale.”

“I’m fine.”

Sensing that there was no way he was going to get Koujaku to open up, and worried about what might have happened, Noiz walked over to the cabinet. He rarely drank but he knew enough about alcohol to find the scotch and pour out a glass.

“Here.”

Noiz returned to the table with the glass and the bottle. The bottle he set down, and took the glass and pressed it into Koujaku’s hand. When the older man hesitated, Noiz insisted with a gentle nudge.

“Don’t worry, I can sleep on the couch.” He said. “And then I can catch the train again tomorrow.”

Koujaku still looked uncertain, so Noiz took the glass from his hands and threw back the shot. He poured another and held it out.

“There, now you have to.” He said, voice a little hoarse from the drink. “It’d be pretty lame if you didn’t.”

Koujaku took the drink and mimicked Noiz’s action, swallowing the entirety of the amber-coloured liquid in one breath. Noiz sat down on the couch as Koujaku rubbed his eyes.

“We were in a car accident on our way back from the restaurant.” Koujaku said finally. “It wasn’t a big deal at first, but we had to go to the police station to fill out some paperwork since there were three other cars involved. It was all going fine – frustrating, but fine since no one was hurt. And then she…”

“What?”

“Well, it turned out that one of her ex-boyfriend’s friends was an officer at that precinct so they started arguing and she had to be forcibly restrained. I waited until her bail was put up so that I could pay it and driver her home. I couldn’t leave her there, after all. And she was so upset by it all too.”

“That’s… incredible.”

“It certainly wasn’t expected.” He agreed. “She had seemed really lovely up until that point. Not a fan of kids though.” Koujaku poured himself another scotch, but only drank a little of it this time. "Ah, dating is harder than it used to be. I used to be so good at it, but now… People are fussier, I think. They don’t want to date someone with kid or mortgage, they don’t want to date someone who likes this or hasn’t been there.“

"Not everyone is like that.” Noiz said.

“Mm, well, I’m sure it’s easier for you.” Koujaku said. “You’re young and attractive – I’m sure there are no shortage of people who would want to go out with you.”

Fuck? Sure. But actually date? Well, in actuality there was a dearth of people like that, so Noiz seized the one thing that had really stuck out at him from everything Koujaku had said since he had gotten home.

“You think I’m attractive?” Noiz asked, shifting closer.

Koujaku blinked. “Well, yeah.” He said. “You’ve got nice hair, and a pleasant voice. You’re good with kids and computers. What’s not to like?”

“What else do you like about me?” The words were out before Noiz could really consider them. He shifted closer again, their thighs almost touching, now close enough to smell the scotch on Koujaku’s breath.

“Well, you’re bilingual. And you’re smart, studying at one of the best universities in the country.” Koujaku, speaking slower now. “From what I’ve heard, you’re reliable at your work. You’re certainly reliable here with Beni. Did I say you have nice hair?”

“What else?”

“Hm…”

Knowing he would never get another chance like this, Noiz grabbed Koujaku’s face and pulled it down to his, kissing him. Koujaku jumped a little in shock, sloshing scotch down the front of Noiz’s shirt now that he was in close proximity but he did not care. For a millisecond, Noiz regretted what he had done – but Koujaku had looked so handsome in the half-light from the kitchen as he considered Noiz’s question.

The regret was whisked away the instant Koujaku responded in kind and wow Noiz thought he had probably never been kissed that curious mix of desire and uncertainty in his life. It was better than he had imagined; Koujaku’s lips were warm and just a little rough. The taste of the scotch on his tongue was not bad either.

“You have a tongue ring.” Koujaku said, a little breathlessly, when they separated just enough to draw in much needed air.

“That’s not all.” Noiz said, grabbing a hold of Koujaku’s shirt to pull him closer. “But I’m looking forward to showing you the rest." 

***

The next morning, Noiz woke to find himself in an unfamiliar bed. But since there was no way he could forget what had happened the night before, he sat up and looked around.

Koujaku was nowhere to be seen.

Satisfied smile fading, Noiz got out of bed and pulled on his clothes. He checked his reflection in the ensuite mirror to make sure his hair did not look tousled (well, maybe he left it a little tousled; Koujaku had seemed to like his hair after all) and then headed out of the bedroom.

He was instantly met with the rich smell of bacon cooking. Apprehension was drowned out by hunger, and Noiz hurried to the kitchen.

Koujaku stood at the stove, dressed casually in a t-shirt and track pants as he critically watched the food he was preparing. A steaming stack of pancakes was already set on the small table in the kitchen, along with the usual condiments and a bottle of orange juice. As Noiz walked in, the toaster popped, and Koujaku hurried to butter the hot toast and set it on a plate.

"Hey!” Koujaku said when he saw Noiz. He smoothed his hand with light fingers. “I, uh, wasn’t sure what you liked so…” He smiled sheepishly. “And I’m making eggs, too, so how do you like yours?”

“Just normal.” Noiz said, breaking into a small smile.

“Normal?”

"You know, sunny side up.“ Noiz said.

"Right, coming up then.” Koujaku said. “Sit, sit. Do you want coffee?”

“I can make it.” Noiz said.

“Al-alright then.” Koujaku said.

Noiz clicked the jug on to boil. This was too much… He had not expected Koujaku to cook breakfast for him, and what a breakfast it looked to be. But the fact that he was trying so hard to act casual while doing something so sweet was terribly endearing and Noiz was finding it difficult to suppress his smile.

When the jug finished, Noiz set about making coffee.

“How do you take yours?” He asked, glancing over at where Koujaku was setting cutlery on to the table.

“Just black.” Koujaku said.

Easy enough to remember, Noiz thought. Koujaku stepped closer, eyebrows pulling into a frown.

“I can see why you wanted to make it.” He said, watching as Noiz dumped multiple teaspoons of sugar into his own cup.

“I’m still young enough to like sweet things.” Noiz said, smirked.

“What are you trying to say there, brat?” Koujaku asked, a half-incredulous laugh spilling from his lips.

Noiz shrugged. “If you didn’t hear me, maybe you’re already going deaf?”

Koujaku actually laughed that time, and Noiz felt the flush of electric currents through his body at the sound.

“No, but really.” Koujaku asked, mirth fading to seriousness. “Are you free next week?”

“What day?”

“Whatever day.”

“Another fashion shoot?”

“No, you idiot. A date.”

“Already? Wow, you do work fast.”

“Well, that depends on if you are free or not.”

“What?”

“I mean,” Koujaku said, squaring his shoulders. “What I mean is, would you go on a date with me? You know, would you want to?”

Dumbfounded for half a second before recovering, Noiz smiled and turned back to the two coffee mugs on the bench.

"Well?“ Koujaku asked, and this time Noiz really could hear the anxiousness in his voice.

"Sure.” Noiz said. “But I don’t like flowers.”

Koujaku chuckled. “Got it.” He then paused thoughtfully. “Huh, that means I’ll have to find another babysitter.”

“I know a guy.” Noiz said. Well, Clear had been complaining about how much his new recording microphone would cost. “He’s a bit of an airhead, but is otherwise a pretty good guy. I’ll get him to call you.”

“Alright then.” Koujaku said. “So, when are you free?”

“Friday. Pick me up after class.” Noiz said.

“Done.” Koujaku said. He smiled, and it lit up his eyes with surprising tenderness. “I’m looking forward to it.”

At that point, Beni bounced in.

“Yay! Bacon!” Beni said. “Ah, I’m so hungry! Hey, you’re still here.”

“Well, you see, while your dad was in jail last night he was thinking that–”

“Noiz!”

“Dad?!”

“I wasn’t arrested, Beni, don’t worry.” Koujaku said, shooting Noiz a glare before returning his attention to his son. “We just had an accident in the car and had to go to the station for a bit.”

“What!?”

“– you still haven’t beaten me at Mario Kart yet.” Noiz said. “Your dad thinks that you should man up and settle that before anything else.”

“I’ll go set it up!” Beni said, attention instantly diverted.

“After breakfast, you two.” Koujaku said, shaking his head. “First, eat. That includes you too, Noiz. Sit down.”

Noiz took the two coffee cups to the table, and helped Beni pour out a glass of orange juice. Koujaku joined them a few minutes later with freshly cooked eggs. As Noiz started on the breakfast that was arguably the best he had eaten in his entire life, he decided that maybe it was time to quit being just the babysitter.

**Author's Note:**

> “Textbook” text from here.
> 
> Also, thanks to shibaface for translating the drama cds that serves as the inspiration for Beni’s school topic. The translation in question can be read here.


End file.
